Breath of Dragons (A Pandoran Novel) (19 page)

Stefan needed us
yesterday
.

I wasn't entirely sure what Gesh's stipulations were on portal usage, for I'd been told each territory had its own set of rules, but they would have to make an exception for us. "Mercedes," I began, "I am not sure if Vera mentioned why we've come here—"

"She has," Mercedes replied. "I've already secured a schooner and crew for you. It's a small ship, but it's fast and should have you to Pendel by week's end. Be careful there. The people are friendly, from what I understand, but there are old powers that still haunt the land."

I inhaled slowly. The people of Gesh really were superstitious. "Thank you, again, for your help, but I'm afraid that won't be enough. We need to use your portal."

She inclined her head as if she hadn't heard me correctly. "The portal?"

"Yes."

She shook her head. "That is out of the question."

"Why?" I asked. "The portals are a network of public transportation—"

"The portals are no such thing. Mosaque has its protocols, just like each and every single territory in Gaia, and we cannot simply alter our rules because you would like passage. The rules are what they are; they do not change—not even for a princess."

I felt as if my hand were being slapped. "But how can you say that when there is an entire army of shadowguard assembled along the northern wall?"

She went suddenly still. A statue of a goddess seated upon my bed, staring openly at me. "What do you mean, army?"

She had been at the games. She had known the shadowguard and my uncle, Eris, had somehow infiltrated the castle, but profession of an army was something else entirely. "Myez Rader informed us of this before he had us thrown in his dungeons."

She suddenly stood and walked over to the glass doors, looking out absently while touching the gauzy panel that hung there.

Seconds passed silently by, and when Mercedes still didn't speak, I continued. "Mercedes, we
need
to use the portal. I wouldn't be asking you if it wasn't an emergency. I need to get to Pendel and stop Eris before he attacks. There isn't enough time for us to sail all the way to Pendel. I had initially thought there would be, but now I know there is not. Valdon would be taken before we even landed."

She exhaled slowly. "I am sorry, Daria, but I cannot. Believe that I would help you if I could, assuming the portal in Pendel would accept you, but this…this is not in my power to do. The people of Gesh will not interfere in the matters of the mainland—"

"Do you honestly believe he'll stop there?" I cut her off out of desperation. "Once my uncle's marched through Alioth and Valdon—no telling where Orindor's fealty is in all of this—he will come here. You know he will; he's done it before. Would you leave your people at his mercy, bringing about a second Dark Reign, when you could have acted to prevent this?"

She dropped her hand from the drapery, turned to face me, and I knew that I had spoken out of line. "And
if
he does," she said, her tone severe, "
then
Gesh will deal with him. The politics of this world are much older than you are; do not tell me how to rule my people."

My fists clenched and I looked away from her while trying to steady my breathing. She had done much for me and I was grateful, but I was also angry with her for so easily dismissing this. How could she let this happen? If the other territories were taken, Gesh would never survive. It would be the Dark Reign all over again. She
had
to know that!

After a few moments of charged silence, she continued in a somewhat softer tone. "Forgive me, Daria. I should not have spoken to you thus." She paced, pausing near a small dresser and absently tracing the contours of a small jade dragon statue. "You must understand that my people have a long history with the mainlanders, and they will not take kindly to being told they are to fight alongside them. What you ask is much greater than you realize. I may be ruler of Gesh, but my hands are tied to my people, and they will not support you—not yet. Not until the threat is clear."

I glared at her back. "And my father's murder wasn't clear enough?"

She looked back at me. Her lips tightened and she fought to hide whatever it was she felt.

But I felt her grief.

"You know there's no time," I continued. "We
must
use your portal."

She sighed, her arms falling limply at her sides almost in a gesture of surrender. "Daria, even if the threat arrived at our walls, we could not let you pass. Our portal is sacred. All portals are sacred, but ours is one of the few viewed as such by its people. Our protocol is severe in its rigidity. It opens once every few years, and even then it is our
venita
who pass through in order to report on the portal's conditions."

"Venita?" I asked.

"Our vicars. We have three of them, and they have spent their entire life in solitude and prayer. They live at the temple, and they are the only ones who pass through our portal. On occasion, they'll take another with them—someone of
Gesh
who has done a great service for our people. It is a way of honoring them, but to allow the three of you passage would be considered blasphemous. I am sorry. I cannot grant you this."

And that was final.

I grit my teeth and stared vacantly at my sheets. What would we do now? There had to be another way. I would talk to Alex. Maybe he could help me devise a plan and maybe we could somehow sneak through the portal.

Maybe.

I hated to defy Mercedes when she'd been so hospitable, but I was running out of options. And time.

"There is…something else I may be able to help you with," she said suddenly, carefully. Her eyes leveled on mine, and my curiosity piqued. "I am dining this evening with the patricians of Gesh, my
real
advisors. It is a rare occasion that we are all present—you know how it is. Demands from the people pull us away. But tonight we are gathering in the great hall to celebrate the summer solstice."

I waited, already understanding where she was going with this.

"I extend a dinner invitation to you." She touched the end of her braid. "As daughter of the crown, your attendance would be extraordinary, and I believe, with the right conduct, you may find the aristocratic gathering somewhat…propitious."

She was giving me an opportunity to speak with the decision-makers of Gesh. She was allowing me to represent my brother and all of Valdon in order to garner support. She was treating me as an equal.

No, she's treating you as a
princess
.

It didn't solve the portal problem, but having Gesh's reinforcements might bide us more time to sail to Pendel and then back to Valdon, and they would be able to help Stefan in the interim. I smiled at her. She did not smile back, but I saw the glimmer in her eyes like we were a pair of conspirators.

"Thank you, Mercedes," I said. "I hope I have not sounded unappreciative, because I am so grateful for everything you've done for me—for us."

She waved it off. "I have done nothing. However, if you do join us for dinner, I must give you a word of caution: You are safe here, in this house, because you are under my protection, but there remain those who may be swayed with the right incentive. Prince Stefan may have denied Lord Danton's proposal of marriage to you, but there are others who would be more than willing to hand you over to the Pontefracts for a prize."

My breath caught. "So it's true."

She nodded slowly.

I inhaled deeply, and my chest felt heavy. Stefan had denied the proposal…for me. Stefan, the acting regent of Gaia, whose primary duty was to protect his realm, had denied crucial help so that his sister could be happy. Stefan, my brother, who followed every single rule and custom, whether written or implied. I thought I should've felt joyous, but instead I felt…chastened. "Does…does everyone know?" I asked.

"If by everyone, you mean the entire world, no," she replied. "Lord Commodus Pontefract has conveniently informed the rulers of each territory; it is only a matter of time before his intentions bleed beyond the aristocracy. People love to gossip, you know. Being privy to restricted information gives some a faulty sense of self-importance, and those same people are usually eager to share that information so that they might be important in others' minds, too."

I sighed and looked up into her eyes. Her expression was inscrutable.

"Daria, I tell you this because the Pontefracts do not take rejection lightly. They have many supporters—some of whom will be in attendance this evening. I expect you'll want your Aegises to accompany you to dinner." She paused, and her eyes flickered over my face. "You must be careful, Daria. You will be watched. Every single thing you do will be watched and noted. Any apparent…
partiality
you may show will put you and the object of your partiality in great danger."

I held her heavy gaze, knowing she was referring to Alex. How did she know? Was it really that obvious?

I'd thought my love for Alex would be enough. I'd falsely believed that I really did have a choice in this world to be with him, and it had been easy to believe, hidden and isolated in the forest, always riding away from truth. But Myez Rader's words had jerked me right out of the world of dreams and hopes I'd built and thrust me into the bitter cold of reality. I could feel however I felt and want whatever I wanted, but it did not change the way this world worked. If anyone even so much as suspected feelings between a princess and her Aegis, it would completely undermine everything Stefan was fighting for. Anything I was fighting for. And Stefan had already sacrificed enough for me. Not to mention it would directly put Alex in danger.

Perhaps that was why he had withdrawn again. Perhaps Myez Rader's words had reminded him of reality, too.

I was wondering why Mercedes had chosen to warn me when I noted the great empathy in her gaze. She had experienced something of this kind, as well.

I swallowed, nodding slowly in understanding.

Once Mercedes was satisfied that I understood her meaning, she said, "I will fetch Ansha to prepare you for this evening." And then she took her leave, pausing only to glance at me over her shoulder, and then she was gone.

I sighed and sagged back against my headboard, closing my eyes. Things were getting very, very complicated.

Chapter 10

A Royal Bath

A
nsha appeared before I could spend any time wallowing in self-pity.

"I weel take you to the baths, now, yes?" she asked.

A bath. Yes, that was just what I needed. I could let my worries drown in the water.

"That sounds wonderful, Ansha." I smiled at her and slid out of bed. I swayed on my feet and Ansha rushed to my side to catch me, but I held her off. "I'll be all right. Just a little dizzy, is all." I was probably dizzy from too much sleep.

Her eyes flickered over me and she frowned. Ansha grabbed a towel and some other article of clothing from the wardrobe near the glass doors and then held my bedroom door open, motioning for me to follow her. I slipped my feet into the sandals beside my bed and slowly and steadily followed her out the door and into an open corridor that boasted a view of the city.

Mosaque.

It was the dream of an artist, arid and elegantly constructed of white stone to blend into the white rocks of the cliffs. Greenery and flowers draped from rooftops and terraces; dozens of verandas opened to the sky. A blue sea glittered beyond, the smell of the ocean mixing with nearby lavender in a combination that soothed the soul. Natural springs filled small pools that were home to both lily pads and thirsty birds. Beautiful water fountains were the centerpieces in the maze of open walkways.

I had no idea where Ansha was taking us, even if I'd been paying attention. My focus was so diverted that she could've been leading me to the dungeons and I wouldn't have known. This city in the cliffs was so mesmerizing. A hummingbird fluttered past, wings a blur as its body floated before a honeysuckle. I wondered why on earth Vera would leave Gesh for a place like Valdon. Sure, Valdon was beautiful in its own right, but Gesh was positively ambrosial.

We passed men and women as we wound the labyrinth of walkways. The style of clothing here was similar to what Mercedes had worn, all loose and flowing. Men mostly walked bare-chested, and if they had any covering over their torso, it was a simple sash or a web of decorative tattoos. And all of the people were tanned and corded with muscle.

Curious eyes with lingering gazes followed me as I passed. Conversation would sometimes stop, inciting a deliberate scowl from Ansha, and then those onlookers would hurry off.

I was too weary to care much, though the fresh air was already breathing life back into my stiff joints. We eventually arrived at an entryway, which was a perfect rectangle cut out of stone, and the view beyond was blocked by another wall. We slighted right and I was engulfed in hot and humid air, and then we rounded the corner.

It was a bathhouse, and perhaps one of the most opulent places I had ever seen. It had been built against a cliff, waterfalls trailing down the natural rock wall and running into a pool of the most brilliant blue, as though the water were liquid sapphire. Golden sunlight streamed through an oculus in the domed rooftop. Vines and flowers covered the other walls like thick carpet, and the scents of eucalyptus and citrus saturated the heavy air. The pool was adorned in thousands of shiny, colorful pebbles like some giant mosaic, and all around little stone dragons stood, water spouting from their jaws, their tails, and their talons. A fine layer of steam rose from the water, and I found myself very eager to climb right in.

"You like eet?" Ansha stood at the top of a set of stairs, which disappeared into the water.

"It's beautiful," I said, walking to the edge and dipping my fingers into the water. It was the perfect temperature, too.

"Are you going to get in?" Ansha arched a brow.

"Yes…" It suddenly dawned on me that I needed to take off my clothes. "Um." Well, this was awkward. "Would you, uh, turn around?"